1899 Anno Quattro Capitolo 1 – International Mutoscope & Biograph: Fin-de-siècle in a leisure mood

In a German Bath. DE 1899. Photo: EYE Filmmuseum.

Introducono: Bryony Dixon (BFI National Archive), Béatrice De Pâstre (CNC) and Mariann Lewinsky.
Musical interpretation: Stephen Horne.
Sala Mastroianni, Bologna, Il Cinema Ritrovato (Anno Quattro), 22 June 2019.

Mariann Lewinsky (Il Cinema Ritrovato): "Cinéma pur: They made this film five times the standard length, so as to give the audience the full thrill and take it from one end of the bridge to the other. The experience has inspired Stanley Kubrick to create the famous sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey."

"Back to the Future: Delegates from all over the world arrive in Haarlem to attend the First Hague Peace Conference. In the 20 th century, war will be abolished and nations will resolve their conflicts by diplomacy. Pas de progrès dans le plaisir: The joy of jumping into the water cannot be improved, it is and has always been perfect. The Great Beauty, I+II: Does the eye of the beholder impart grandeur to these two views or were they made to be monuments of both capitalism and bolshevism, celebrating work and its product? Magical Mystery Tour: More ghost rides please. “Why film pigs?” asked my friend. Because living pictures or animated photographs need the movement of live actors, and six pigs and some hens will do just fine. Fun on a Sandhill: A film about having fun on a sandhill. Today there are two ferries leaving behind Amsterdam station. One takes you right to EYE Filmmuseum, the other slightly to the east, to Tolhuis, a short ten minutes walk to the EYE building. This ferry was there in 1899; the Filmmuseum not." Mariann Lewinsky (Il Cinema Ritrovato)

Across Brooklyn Bridge •  Aankomst der vredesconferentie te Haarlem • In a German Bath •  Tapping a Blast Furnace •  Launch of the ‘Oceania’ •  In der Friedrichstrasse • An Irish Peasant Scene – Feeding Pigs •  Fun on a Sandhill •  Naar ‘t Tolhuis

Across Brooklyn Bridge
Mutoscope & Biograph. 35 mm (blowdown from 68 mm). D.: 4’. Bn. Year: 1899. Country: USA. Copy from BFI.
    AA: A wonderful phantom ride, almost a roller coaster ride across Brooklyn Bridge, a forward tracking shot from the engine of the train. Ok visual quality with scratches.

Aankomst der vredesconferentie te Haarlem, 4 juni 1899
Mutoscope & Biograph. 35 mm (blowdown from 68 mm). D.: 4’. Bn. Director: Emile Lauste. Year: 1899. Country: Olanda. Copy from EYE.
    AA: A plain record of the peace conference at Haarlem (The Netherlands). Could this be a conference that led to the Hague Convention of 1899? Low contrast, frameline issues.

In a German Bath
Mutoscope & Biograph. 35 mm (blowdown from 68 mm). D.: 2’. Bn. Year: 1899. Country: Germania. Copy from EYE.
    AA: See photo on top. A lively record of Sport-Seebad Halensee in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Berlin. Women swimmers in tanksuits and maillots. Visual quality slightly soft.

Tapping a Blast Furnace – Newcastle
Mutoscope & Biograph. 35 mm (blowdown from 68 mm). D.: 2’. Bn. Year: 1899. Country: Gran Bretagna. Copy from EYE.
    AA: A fine glimpse of the industrial process. Visual quality ok.

Launch of the "Oceania". Photo: EYE.

Launch of the ‘Oceania’
Mutoscope & Biograph. 35 mm (blowdown from 68 mm). D.: 2’. Bn. Director: William Kennedy-Laurie Dickson Year: 1899. Country: Gran Bretagna. Running time: 2'. Copy from EYE.
    AA: A stark and simple record of the launching of the ship, the accurate title of which I guess is RMS Oceanic, and if this is correct, it was the largest ship in the world until 1901. Sublime. An ok visual quality with frameline issues.

In der Friedrichstrasse. Photo: EYE.

In der Friedrichstrasse
Mutoscope & Biograph. 35 mm (blowdown from 68 mm). D.: 2’. Bn. Year: 1899. Country: Germania.Copy from EYE.
    AA: A phantom ride shot from a moving vehicle on a major cultural and shopping street in Berlin. The bustle of traffic. Visual quality ok, a bit on the soft side.

An Irish Peasant Scene – Feeding Pigs. Photo: EYE.

An Irish Peasant Scene – Feeding Pigs
Mutoscope & Biograph. 35 mm (blowdown from 68 mm). D.: 1’. Bn. Director: William Kennedy-Laurie Dickson. Year: 1899. Country: Gran Bretagna. Copy from EYE.
    AA: Pigs in the sty, eating at the trough. Thick scratches.

Fun on a Sandhill
Mutoscope & Biograph. 35 mm (blowdown from 68 mm). D.: 1’. Bn. Year: 1899. Country: Germania. Copy from EYE.
    AA: Children at the slide. An ok visual quality.

Naar ‘t Tolhuis. Photo: EYE.

Naar ‘t Tolhuis
Mutoscope & Biograph. 35 mm (blowdown from 68 mm). D.: 45’’. Bn. Director: [Emile Lauste]. Year: 1899. Country: Olanda. Copy from EYE.
    AA: As Mariann explained, going to Tolhuis we are going to what is now EYE Film Museum. Joy of dance. Visual quality: a bit shaky.